Monday 9 April 2012

Assalamu Alaikum: Brutal Concept of Apostasy and Blasphemy in Pakistan


Written by: Deeba Chaudhry
Source:  Calgary Ahmadiyya Muslim Examiner



 Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Calgary Ahmadiyya Muslim Examiner
By Deeba Chaudhry | April 8, 2012

As Muslim, when one say “Assalamu Alaikum” means “May peace and blessings of God be upon you.” Can one imagine that Ahmadi Muslims in one country - Pakistan are not even allowed to utter these words - “Assalamu Alaikum?” This is the plight of Ahmadis in Pakistan. This is the difficulty of Ahmadis. Thousands and thousands of Prophets have come into this world to guide humanity. Their message was common: belief in God, belief in the Day of Resurrection, the Hereafter, the Day of Judgement and encouraging people to do good and forbidding evil. But all the Prophets who came into this world - thousands upon thousands upon thousands who came to every nation - they were rejected. They were persecuted. There were ridiculed. They were scorned. Their followers were torn into pieces. Sometimes their flesh was torn from their bones. Never has a Prophet ever been accepted. They have been blasphemed, ridiculed, jeered at, spat at and even flogged!

Look at the pathos, as if God Himself is in grief. “Alas! O’ My creation, have I ever sent a Prophet who was not ridiculed?” (36:31) Starting from Adam (as), all the Prophets were persecuted. Was the Prophet Abraham (as) not thrown into the fire because of his belief in the Unity of God? What about Moses (as)? Pharoah had ordered all male children to be killed. The people had predicted that a Prophet was about to be born, and even before he was born, Pharoah ordered that all male children be killed. God saved him as He saved all other Prophets. David (as), Solomon (as), name any Prophet. Look at Jesus Christ (as), noble Prophet of God who was not only ridiculed, he was flogged, he was tortured, spat at, bleeding all over. A crown of thorns was put on his head - Jesus Christ (as). Which Prophet was accepted? What about Noah (as)? God told him to build an ark. They mocked at him and they laughed at him. The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) also build an ark - a spiritual ark. In fact, he wrote a book called, The Ark Of Noah - Kashti Nu. In a world that is often troubled, we are blessed to live in a country like Canada. There are millions of Ahmadis all over the world who have taken shelter in this ark of Noah (as), the spiritual ark of Noah. This is the plight. What about the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa)? He was also persecuted and (abused), People were hounding after him to kill him off. People called all these Prophets liars, they called them poets. Sometimes, they called them magicians. They called them frauds. They called them businessmen. They called them Apostates. They give a verdict, an edict that they deserve to be killed. This Blasphemy, it`s a pity, how unfortunate that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, whose prime objective is to show the pristine purity of Islam, to show the true face of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), Ahmadis are bogged down!
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Blasphemy Laws: Pakistan’s Criminal Code comprise its blasphemy laws - 295: forbids damaging a place of worship, 295-A: forbids outraging religious feelings, 295-B: forbids defiling the Quran, 295-C: forbids defaming the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (sa), 298: forbids the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person, utters any word, 298-A: prohibit’s the use of any derogatory remark in respect of Muslim holy personages, 298-B and 298-C: prohibit the Ahmadiyya Muslims from behaving as Muslims, calling themselves Muslims, proselytising, or “in any manner whatsoever” outraging the religious feelings of Muslims and violation of any part of these section makes the violator liable to death penalty or life imprisonment. Any person (according to) the penal code of Pakistan, the Constitution, who says any derogatory words against Islam or its Prophets, is bound to be hanged, bound to be killed. Government of Pakistan need to the international community how many heads do they chop? The population of the world is about 7 billion now. Muslims all over the world are 1.5 billion, maybe even slightly less. So does it mean that the heads of the other 5 billion have to be chopped because they do not believe in the Prophet Muhammad (sa). Their civility prevents them from openly stating their view that the Holy Prophet (sa) is a false Prophet but they are not Muslims that is why they don`t believe in him. How ridiculous! How wrong! Those who do not believe in the Prophet or who say something unkind against him due to their freedom of speech, are their heads going to be chopped? People made cartoons of Prophets in UK. People speak against Islam, against the Holy Quran and against the Holy Prophet (sa) as well. As it is everybody knows there are people burning the Quran. There was a burning ceremony in the United States. People burned the Holy Book. God says in the Holy Quran that: “We have revealed this Book. We will preserve it.” (15:10)

Are we doing that? Are we asking (for) international community to help us to save the Holy Quan? No! Allah has said in the Holy Quran, I will preserve it. Are we asking (for) help to save the Holy Prophet (sa)? No! Allah has said, I will save him. Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at is only appealing to peoples’ conscience - to peoples’ inner conscience that this is a blot on humanity. This is wrong. It does not appeal to common sense. The Holy Quran says, “There is no compulsion in religion.” Everybody heard about the Danish cartoons, people made cartoons against the Holy Prophet (sa). It injures our feelings. We love the Prophet Muhammad (sa) far more than our parents. It hurts. It pains. But read the Holy Quran from the beginning to the end, there is no punishment prescribed in the Holy Quran for Blasphemy. God says, I will deal with it, I will respond to (this action).

Countless people (are) bring put to punishment or being killed by misuse of Blasphemy Law in Pakistan. Asiya Bibi, who is a Christian lady with five children (is) accused of blasphemy. She has been languishing in jail because she has been accused, and she has been sentenced to death. We are embarrassed. This is not Islam. But who cares, more than thirty people had already been murdered, who have been accused of blasphemy, but killers had been freed by the courts. Who cares for the courts? You are declared innocent even by the court and the moment you come out, it`s a free for all. So many people have been killed. The governor of the most important province of Pakistan, Punjab, Salman Taseer, who only visited Asiya Bibi in jail, said we should revisit this law because people are misusing it in order to gain peoples`property or in order to do other things. Let us revisit this. His own bodyguard killed him. After killing him, the other bodyguards stood silent. And, this murderer was not only declared a hero but declared a saint. The Minority Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who was a Roman Catholic, was murdered in Quetta in broad daylight. Which religion allows that? Recently, A Shia man in Pakistan’s Punjab province has been arrested under the contr4oversial blasphemy law for using foul language against three caliphs of Prophet Muhammad (sa) and Jamil Messih a resident of Basti Balochan was convicted of Blasphemy charges u/s 295C on 2nd April, 2012. A eight-grader Christian girl named Faryal, whose miniscule error led to her expulsion from school and uproar amongst local religious leaders. She misspelt a word in an Urdu exam while answering a question on a poem written in praise of Holy Prophet (PBUH). The word in question was “Laanat” instead of “Naat” - an easy error for a child to make. According to school administration and religious leaders who took great exception to the hapless student’s mistake, the error is ‘serious’ enough to fall within the realm of blasphemy.

What about the life of the Holy Prophet (sa)? What did he do? Was he not blasphemed? He used to go to the mosque and there was a lady who used to throw rubbish upon his head every time, and he would clean his head and wash his hair and go back to the mosque. The Holy Prophet (sa) found out that for 2 or 3 days she had not throw rubbish on his head. He asked about her and was told that the lady is sick. He went to see her. He said, `Madam, you are not well. I just came to ask of your health.`This is the reply of the Holy Prophet (sa). It is this compassion of the Holy Prophet (sa) which has brought us together and we are all enslaved. It is not vindictiveness. It is his compassion, it is his love. This is love for all, hatred for none. `Bring your proof if you are truthfull!`O you the Mullah! O you the turban clad or those wearing long gowns issuing edicts sometimes against Salman Rushdie for The Satanic Verses, (sometimes) against members of our comm unity! Ninety-nine people, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community were butchered in cold blood while they were offering their prayers. You know of this, you have seen the video and you have seen the blood (that) was not only splashed on the floor but blood and the parts of those martyrs were stuck to the roof of those mosques. This is our plight. But, we do not take the law into our own hands. This Holy Prophet (sa) did not do so and the Promised Messiah (as) also did not do so. There was a man who used to abuse him. He came to Qadian and he abused him. He constantly abused him for the whole night. In the morning, the Promised Messiah (as) said, `This man who has been abusing me, he has lot his voice because of constant shouts and abuses. Make a cup of tea and had it over to him so that his voice improves.`This is compassion.

Blasphemy: The punishment for blasphemy is in the hands of God. He says, Ì will take care of that. Do not worry about that. It`s not in your hands. I have sent these Prophets and I will take care of them.` So those who open their mouths and talk against the Prophets of God, maybe they are Christian or Hindu or Buydhiust. Let people worship their stone. Let them worship fire. Let them worship the cow. Let them worship Jehovah, Lord Krishna, Vahe Guru, Let them worship One God, it is their prerogative. On the Day of Judgement we will all be judged. Why do you become the master of the Day of Judgement? Allow people (to do) what they want to do, God will take care of that. So, it is extremely painful. It`s extremely embarrassing that we should stand over here and defend Islam, not from the West, not from the media, but from our own people who have given (the) wrong interpretations of Islam as a religion of terrorists, a terrible religion. This was Islam - luckily this is not Islam, God forbid - if this was Islam then Ahmadis are not that type of Muslims. Islam is a religion of peace. It’s a religion of love. It’s a religion of affection. It’s religion of brotherhood. It is a religion that we will all try and find our from other religions what is good in their religion. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community hold countless conferences, everybody must have heard. They provide a forum to the Hindus, to the Sikhs, to the Christians, to the Jews. Let them come forward. Let them find out. Truth is not the monopoly of any religion. Find out what is better. Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at will present the Islamic view as well. Everybody believes that their view is the best. Let the people judge. And let me say that we have a short time to live in this world. We are guests on this planet. How long? If not today, tomorrow… We all have to go to our graves. Why show any vindictiveness? Why show any hatred? We are all human beings. Forget about the pigment of my skin or the accent that I have. We are all the children of God. What blasphemy?

One should never abuse the Prophets of God. One should never abuse the elects of God. Do not talk ill of the Prophets of God. (Be they) the Buddhists or the Christians or the Hindus or the Sikhs or the Muslims. That is why the Promised Messiah (as) has said, “O’ you, the heedless, do not harbour any rancour, any enmity against the Prophets of God. Keep away from them. If you do not understand, keep quite because they are a den of lions. They will pounce upon you, the spiritual den of lions.“ The Promised (as) has further said that, “I can compromise with the cannibals, with the snakes and the lions. But I can never compromise with people who abuse the Holy Prophet (sa). He said, “if my limbs are cut off, if my children are massacred before my eyes, if I am deprived of all my desires and all my emotions.“ In fact, he said that, “If my eyes are gouged out, that will be not as painful as it is when I heard people abusing my Master.“

Continue reading on Examiner.com Assalamu Alaikum: Brutal Concept of Apostasy and Blasphemy in Pakistan - Calgary Ahmadiyya Muslim | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/ahmadiyya-muslim-in-calgary/assalamu-alaikum-brutal-concept-of-apostasy-and-blasphemy-pakistan#ixzz1rQsYp2ia

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